Photographs by Laurie @ Horizons Photography

December 31, 2010

If I were to look back over the past year and tell you all the things that I have learned I would fill a book let alone one tiny little Blog post, it's been a year that I would have happily glanced over at times, a year that was filled with moments I would rather not have had, a year that brought some tough lessons. Yet, here I sit on the precipice of 2011 and I can proudly tell you that had it not been for this past year I wouldn't be the woman I am, so where does that leave me? Happy.

Life lessons can be hard sometimes, and though we have times in our lives where things look grim my guess is that if we were to look back, not just a glance but real look we would all find the moments that we would never have wanted to miss. Those moments when though they were hard they taught us valuable lessons, or brought unsought after joy. I sometimes forget that, forget to take the time to look back.

In 2005 I began an important journey, one that led me to discovery of who I am and who God wants me to be. I began a road to healing and recovery from a lot of hurts and painful things, but I look at that year and I see this... God met me there, in that year I learned the love of my saviour and what it means to really know joy in pain and healing from old wounds. 2006 brought me back to Canada, after a rough start I again began to discover a new that God has a plan, a loving plan that is meant for good. I learned to be content, with whatever I have, with whatever I don't have. 2006 I met my husband and discovered a love that I had only dreamed about, a love that I rejoice in every day, a love that has seen me through some incredibly tough times. 2007 I married my best friend and discovered that we would be starting our family. It was a year of joy and bliss with a few worries tucked in for good measure. It was at the beginning of 2008 that we welcomed Joshua into our lives, with open arms and hearts we learned what it means to love unconditionally, what it was like to love so much it hurts. 2008 was one of the hardest years of our lives, struggling with being new parents, newly weds and the parents of a very ill child. We saw Joshua through 3 catheter procedures, one stroke and an open heart surgery and through it all we held onto each other and God in a way that still brings tears to my eyes. No one could have told me that I would be there in that place and still feel love and joy in the midst of it. It was in 2009 that our little man Kaleb entered the world and more importantly our family. He was and is a great gift, I still remember the doctor checking his heart just moments after his birth and pronouncing him healthy! What a gift when only months before there was a possible hole in his heart!! 2010 we bought our first home and saw Josh through another open heart surgery and now, sitting here in on my couch in my new home I see all these things and I rejoice!

We will have tough times ahead, I have learned that nothing is guaranteed, but we have each other, and we have hope in a Father who loves us deeply and will see us through whatever may come next. In just one hour we will welcome a new year, we have hopes and dreams and some of them will be realized and some of them will be dashed. We were never promised an easy road in this life, but I have discovered this...

In each moment we can choose to look up, we can choose to enjoy the small moments. A smile from our child, a hug from a friend, a touch from our spouse, a word, a step, a good laugh and yes, sometimes even a good cry. No prayer is left unanswered, but sometimes the answer is just a wait, or maybe even a no. God isn't someone out to get us, to punish us or hurt us but rather he is the only one who will stand beside us in all his majesty and weather the storm with us, sometimes shielding us from the rain and sometimes, knowing when to step back a little so that the rain will cleanse us and turn us into his warm and dry embrace.

Happy New Year! May your year be filled with an abundance of blessings and joy and may your face continue to look up to find the sunshine!

December 30, 2010

Josh is almost three, Kaleb is almost 15 months. I have told you all how wonderful they are, what amazing kids they are and I have on occasion mentioned the trouble they can get into and the drama that they can cause.

Today, I am thinking about the expectations I place on them, even at this early age. With Josh, with his illness and his stroke I didn't expect as much. I had been told that there would be delays and I didn't expect any differently. When Kaleb was born, even though he too was born fairly early no one told me that I should expect a delay so I didn't. Kaleb is starting to talk, he points to things and tries a word on it, even if it's just the first syllable Li Li for light. Josh, he has words but it's like he refuses to use them.

My question is this. Is it my fault? Was it because I didn't have any expectations for Josh? Or, is this just they it goes with kids? Each one being different, having their own personality etc. Side note here - I have placed great expectations on Josh that he is going to be the kid that brings the Leafs to the Stanley cup so let's hope the answers lie somewhere in there!!

I think if you read between the lines here you will find that my main issue is pure frustration at not being able to communicate with my kid. I see other two and three year olds chatting up a storm with their parents and I yearn to have those silly asinine conversations with Josh. I want to hear his 'whys?' from the back even if they drive me crazy!! To hear him tell me about the train or the dinosaur or the worm in the garden would all bring me joy and delight and I long, even yearn for that. I see his frustration and I know his pain because I am just as frustrated!

December 28, 2010

Picture this... I am getting ready to go for a coffee this morning, I have my coat on, my gloves and hat and I have Kaleb almost ready to go, with a coat, shoes and hat. The only left to get ready is his milk and cookies in case he needs a peanut free snack while I enjoy my coffee and chat with Fizzy. I leave Kaleb, playing with Josh and the dog for just moments in the mud room while I run in to get the last few things I will need for our morning out together. I am gone less than five minutes, and the door is open the whole time. I can hear everything they are doing.

I grab everything, and am bending over to pick Kaleb up to put him in the stroller when I notice that there is an open pill bottle on the floor, and little pills spread all over the place, some are broken. Somehow Kaleb and or Josh has gotten into my Yoga bag and removed the pills I keep in there. I admit here that the first words from my mouth are not nice words and can't be repeated here without my Blog being reported. My heart stops and I can actually feel the fear running in my veins.

Tim and I collect both kids up and study them, it's Kaleb who is closest to the offending mess, and it's Kaleb who is known to put anything and everything in his mouth. (Josh is a little more discerning). Off to the ER we go, Tim drops me off with Kaleb and takes Josh home. The nurse asks a million questions that I can't answer (how many pills were in the bottle?, how many did he eat? etc. etc.). I can't tell her if he ate any, let alone how many he may have gotten into. Guilt weighs heavily on me and I want to yell at her, or anyone because of my own stupidity! What was I thinking?!?

Thankfully, when the doctor came in and he deduced that Kaleb probably hadn't ingested anything or we would already be seeing the effects of the drugs. He suggests that I get a better bottle to put the meds and sends me home. I pack him up and head home via bus.

That was at 11:45 this morning, we were home by 1:30pm, and here I am at 5pm still shaking like a leaf. We do everything we can for our kids, we keep them fed, warm, we buy them expensive toys and teach them everything we can. In the case of our kids, we deal with heart defects, peanut and egg allergies and all the doctors appointments that those things mean. We go out of our way to make sure these kids are taken care of, we sacrifice our own comfort and happiness to ensure that they are happy, and in less than five minutes it can all end with one stupid mistake, one gap in time when they aren't being watched like hawks.

I slammed into the wall of responsibility today, whoever said that keeping kids alive and healthy was easy was terribly mistaken, or it's just me and I suck at this parenting thing after all?!

December 27, 2010

I made my very first pie today, a blue berry pie with my brand new Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I LOVE IT! There is noting like being able to mix one thing while tending the kids at the very same time. FABULOUS! The pastry tasted good... but the secret was really just a bunch of mistakes, I was so excited about my new mixer that I threw everything into the bowl without reading the full instructions. Then, again without reading instructions I put the mixer on the second speed and watched it work while I did other things. I then took the dough out, made it into a ball and threw it in the fridge without much thought. After dinner (about 1/2 an hour) I took the dough out, threw some flour out on the counter and began the process of rolling out the pastry. I rolled it gently at first, taking great pains to lift it carefully off the counter and into the pie plate, it worked okay, not great I am told but not bad. I stuffed it full of blue berry filling and then I then began the arduous task of making the top. What an ordeal! Who knew that it could be so hard to make a pie lid?? I had no idea!! I tried and tried, I rolled and rolled and still I could not beat that pastry into submission! It just didn't want to work out, and it certainly didn't look like the pies my Grandma used to make... eventually after a number of fatal attempts I finally gave up and I made a picture for the top of the pie instead of a lid. I had mountains, a train and train tracks... quite impressive really! (Although I am only slightly biased). Once again I didn't really read the instructions well, I guess I was supposed to bake the bottom crust a little first? Oh well, not me, I threw the whole thing into the oven and waited, 35 minutes later out came a master piece! Kitchen aid is amazing! My pie tasted so GOOD! No one was more surprised than I was I can promise you that!

funny isn't... no matter the amount of mistakes I made, the pie ultimately came out tasting good. Life lesson or just the magic of Kitchen aid?

December 23, 2010

Someone once asked me about how to break down God's love into a really simple understanding... I laughed at the time. I had no idea?! It's like asking someone to explain quantum physics to a third grader... impossible! It's an abstract thing, unseen, not really felt and yet we know it exists by faith and by a simple knowledge of what he is doing or has done in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Then I had children, and while I still can't fully understand the depths of the love God has for us, I certainly understand it better. It's like I finally took a beginners Physics class.

I love my boys in a way that I didn't think was even possible, I care about every tear that leaves their little eyes even if it is meant to manipulate me. I hurt for every little scrape, or bruise and I want to do everything in my power to keep those wounds to a minimum, preferably they wouldn't ever end up hurt. When they do something that is mean, or hurtful, though it hurts me I know that I need to be strong and firm with them, not to punish but to teach them a better way, to help them grow into stronger men, more compassionate people. If they are headed down a path to destruction, I want to stand in their way to prevent harm.

When Josh needed surgery, though it broke our hearts we knew that it would help to fix his, we love him and want what is best for him, even if the road to that end is painful. I love them, and that means that I want to spoil them, I want to throw my arms around them as often as they will let me and hug them and kiss them, I want to hear their laughter, I rejoice in the giggles and wiggles that come at tickle time. They bring me joy, I could watch them for hours, simply looking at them and reveling in the wonder of them. They are my sons, and I am proud of them, love them and enjoy them. When they hurt me, or frustrate me, I don't ever stop loving them. In fact, all it usually takes is a small little smirk and all is right in the Haughton house once again.

I can't tell you in simplicity what God's love is like, but I can say that this love that I just described is only a small fraction of it. We are so loved, that much is simple. Nothing can separate us from that love, not even ourselves.

December 21, 2010

Today, if someone were to tell me that my boys were put here on earth simply to test me, to try my patience and cause me anxiety... I would have no trouble believing you. It started well, Tim went to work and the boys and I sat listening to carols in the playroom. Josh humming along to Jingle Bells and Kaleb bopping in time with the music, dare I say we even had some fun?!

The switch happened at 9:39 am, I know because I had my Blackberry on me and I took note of the time. One moment all was blissful, happy chatting, sporadic giggles, happy sighs. I can't tell you what went wrong initially, was it a toy that didn't live up to expectations? A car that didn't go fast enough? A train that didn't 'choo' in tune? All I know, is that in the blink of an eye my sweet children, the blessings I have often written to you about, turned into monsters and they haven't let up all day!

Crying, whining, fighting, pushing, biting, hitting, throwing toys, food, cups, even the dog has taken cover!! I have tried every technique that the Super Nanny has offered and here I sit Blogging in pure frustration, listening even now to total chaos.

Somehow, even in the midst of this there is a life lesson... we are all children in this way. Creating chaos and babies enough to whine and cry about it, begging someone to put order to our mess but not lifting our finger to do anything to help ourselves. We sit and have meltdowns, or total freak outs, we shout, cry, whine, throw things, hit, bite, pull hair or inflict untold damage with our words, to both ourselves and others. We are all two years old and we are constantly asking God to fix it, doesn't matter what it is, be it a broken truck or barbie or maybe a boo boo on our hearts. We ask him to fix it, or we blame him for doing it to begin with. Then, when out of pure grace he puts order to our chaos, we sit back on our diapered buts and pat ourselves on the back.

You may notice that I am using the 'Royal we', I of course am talking about me but I am aware enough to know that this is not an uncommon state of mind, we all have our two year old moments, the question is, do we realize it?

December 20, 2010

I have been talking with a few people today about community and what that looks like and feels like and ultimately what it feels like to let that go, to say goodbye either by choice or by force.

In order to discuss this further I will need to once again refer to my time in Austria, my castle home in the heart of the Alps. It was filled with people who knew me, but loved me anyway. When you work and live with a group of people you have no choice but to grow together in intimacy and to learn all the good and all the bad and annoying things about the people you live and work with. When you are a part of something that special you can't help but feel loved. On any given Sunday you will hear someone get up and preach and because you know them so well, all the areas they struggle with and all the things they do well, you listen in a different way, you hear the stuff between the words and you know that they have come to their conclusions through experience. A community is a strange and yet very comfortable place to rest, a family of people that you have chosen to love, that have chosen to love you. Unlike family who loves you because of your relationship to you, a community loves you because of who you are.

Leaving that safe place is like leaving home for the first time, it's scary and hard but it will bring with it maturity and growth. Leaving a home like that, be it your physical home or your spiritual home allows you to stretch and grow, and to teach others about what community can look like. Is it always safe? No, just as in some families you have people who betray you or hurt you or reject you, community will sometimes have someone who is there to cause dissent, someone who betrays, hurts, rejects. Sometimes, you are faced with someone you find it really hard to love or even like. This is how we grow.

Sometimes, we find that it's those people who in the end become your friends, become your champions, if only you allow them in to your heart, pray for them and hope only good for them.

So here is a challenge... if you are out there, facing a new community, leaving an old one, or in the midst of one I challenge you to step it up a notch. Find the person you don't get along so well with and learn to love them, pray for the one who seems to only be out to hurt you, teach the new ones what it really means to be a part of a community. It's not always easy, but is ALWAYS rewarding! Being a part of a community is not a solitary thing, it means opening up to people, regardless of whether or not they may hurt you, it means being fully exposed and totally open. You can't hide in real community. Masks won't cut it, people will find you out, scary? Yes, but it's also the most wonderful thing in the world to be that open, that intimate, that naked and still find yourself loved.

There is one other fantastic thing about community, a very important thing to point out. Leaving a community, though difficult and sad, means that you are open to a new one. You say goodbye to people, but is it really goodbye? My Austrian community is long since gone, broken up and spread world wide, and yet when I needed them to pray for my son, they rallied around me in prayer, having never met my Joshua they still never stopped praying, and writing, even calling to share their love and support. So here I sit in Toronto, Canada and I know that there are literally hundreds of people across the world who love me, and who love my son by proxy and who are praying for his health, his heart and mine. I had said goodbye, but I didn't really say goodbye. Instead, I said, see you later, keep in touch. I have only expanded my community, it's grown and changed and blessed me in so many ways. Leaving isn't always a bad thing, just a change.

December 19, 2010

Today I have been wondering about life in Biblical times, what it was like? what were the people were like? I mean, really, not just the same old stories from our childhoods but day to day life. I went for a walk down the street, cars and buses, trucks and streetcars all bustled by, people rushing from A to B, kids making snowmen, a few people sitting in Cafe's. It made me wonder what it would have been like back then. They were real, just as real as you or I, so they were more than just names and dates in an old book. They felt, they hurt, they dreamed. The men, like David or Samson or Moses or yes even Jesus, all had mothers and fathers. They loved, they laughed and they enjoyed quiet family times. What would they have done? When Mosses mother put him in a basket, how did she find the strength? What kind of pain and suffering did she endure afterwards? Did she ever regret it? Did David remember fondly the days of caring for sheep in his Fathers fields, were there times when he wished it had been one of his brothers who had been pickedw? Was Samson's Dad a guy who sat in the local pub boasting of his son's unnatural strength while his mother prayed that he would cut his hair and look a little more dignified?

I walked past a store, open on a Sunday, housing wares of all makes and sizes, toys, food, drinks, anything you could ever want or need. What would it have been like in the first century? Where do you go when you need a quart of milk or an egg for baking or what if you had a snack attack? What did one eat? Drink? I pass a hair salon, and wonder what those poor women did they wanted a wash, cut and style and let's not forget the mani/pedi that all women should get the joy of receiving at least once or twice in their lives! Dare I question about a massage therapist in a town like Bethlehem?

Once I started to ponder this I came to a bigger question, what was Jesus like as a child? What was his relationship with his Father like? Did he look up to him the way a normal son would look up to his Father? Did he like cuddles from his Mother? Did he play ball? Did he play? Did he long to grow up like we do? Was he always a wise and mature teacher or did he have moments of just silliness? What were his brothers and sisters like? What would it have been like to live with him?

I look at my children, I see Kaleb get angry when I don't get his food fast enough, or if I dare to try and change his diaper, or I see Josh have a melt down in pure frustration at not being able to verbally express himself and you don't want to see what happens if Kaleb dares to touch his train! These two children are wonderful, they are for the most part good, but perfect,sinless Sons of God? Not at all... so I am left wondering, what was he like as a two year old? When did he take his first steps? What were his first words? What was it like for him, growing up knowing his role for the world? His part in the plan that God had for our salvation? Who is this Messiah who's birth we celebrate?

December 18, 2010

Tonight I had the privilege of teaching little Kaleb to walk. I got the share in the joy of his excitement of taking a step and not falling, I got to see the pride fill his face when I clapped with excitement over his achievement. When I was younger I didn't think it would bring such joy to see a child of mine learning things like walking. I mistakenly believed that it would just happen, that my kids would just one day stand up, take a step, probably fall a few times but ultimately begin to walk. I never imagined the feeling of being involved in the process. The warmth in knowing that I am incentive to walk, that his first steps would be to come to me for a hug, for kisses.

Tim taught Josh to walk, I came in at the end stage when Josh was walking four or five steps already. I had been upstairs working while Tim and Josh took the first steps into big boyhood together. That was exciting enough, to walk downstairs and have Josh walk to me out of no where?! Very cool! Equally cool though is to be the person who teaches. Be it to walk, talk or one day read, go potty by themselves or any other thing they might need to learn in order to become men. There is so much to teach, so much to learn, but if every step is as rewarding as Kaleb's first ones have been then I am going to enjoy this motherhood thing so much more than I dreamed.

Smiles, hugs, kisses, giggles, they are all designed to warm a mothers heart, and they inspire a change and a new person to grow inside of me. Someone who wants to be better, who wants to love more, to hug more, to kiss more, and to just enjoy the little moments more. They inspire me to be more of a mother, so that they can grow into strong men who can also love more. They say that Motherhood is work, and it is, but it's also the greatest joy and no matter how many times I Thank God for these two little men in my life I will never be able to express my full gratitude. I have said it before, and I will say it again, and again and again... I am blessed.

December 16, 2010

Bringing Josh home was both a surprise and a joy. We were so happy, he was so happy, I don't think any of us had anticipated how quickly they would let us go home. Our first night was to be spent at a hotel near to the hospital, we prepared to have a good night. Josh was so excited to be out of hospital was bouncing off the walls, still shaky but he wanted to jump off the bed, skip down the hall and generally cause himself harm at every turn, He sat on the bed, I sat at the desk working, he would look over and catch my eye and then smile. It made my world, his smile makes my heart sing, quite literally. My tummy actually gets all warm and squishy.

The problem of course is that he pushed himself, I truly believe that he must have thought we were leaving it all behind at the hospital, all the pain, the fear, the terror of that week. I think that when we drove out of the parking garage and he saw the sunlight he felt freedom, heading home he probably thought it wouldn't hurt there, that things would return to normal, he could play with his toys, see his dog and even bug his brother.

Then Saturday morning happened. He woke screaming in pain at 3 am, I fought some medicine down him and he managed to get back to sleep. Only to wake again at 7:30, wailing again in agony. We brought him downstairs and laid him on the couch but he wouldn't move, wouldn't drink, wouldn't eat. His little eyes looked so sad. He slept on the couch, had a few little snacks but still refused to move or drink and he seemed betrayed when I tried to force medicine down his tiny throat. We watched all his favorite movies, tried to buy all his favorite foods and did everything we could to get him to have even just a sip of anything to drink. He seemed like a different child, gone was the happy little boy trying to skip down the halls of the Delta Chelsea, or the mischief seeking kid who tried to jump off the bed just four days post op. He had vanished and in his place was a sad little boy who would cry if we even spoke about his time at the hospital.

If I pull off his shirt he holds his little hands over his scar in an attempt to hide the ugly marks and with his eyes closed he says 'no' until I put his shirt back down. Nothing for him is as it was, and try to explain that it won't last forever to a 3 year old, it's hopeless.

The waiting was hard for it's reasons, the surgery, the CCU were terror filled days, but the aftermath, the days since Josh has woken from sedation, the healing, this has been horrendous. To watch him suffer, to see his tears, to see his eyes turn to mine filled with questions, to hear his little voice pleading. This, this is by far the worst stage.

That being said, I see daily improvements. Less medication is needed to ease his pain, a few more steps were taken, his eyes turned to me yesterday and instead of tears I received a smile. Small steps, baby steps, but they are marking the journey, they are leading us down the path of healing and bring us to a place where we can look back and only have memories of this time.

My fear is that this will mark Josh, that his self consciousness will stay, that his eyes will always hold a touch of fear, a touch of betrayal, that he will always be slightly less trustful of me, of his doctors. How do I regain his trust, when with all my heart I only did what I knew to be best for him, when all I wanted was for him to be whole and healthy. I love that child more than I even dreamed possible, and I would do anything to take this from him. I would give my life for his, put my heart on the table if it meant he would not know one day of suffering. How can I explain this to a child of only three years old?

How is it, that he can look at me and smile, kiss me good night, giggle with me at SHREK burping, or want comfort from me when he hurts? My son, who has suffered so much, braved too much and loves so well, my son who has faced this surgery with courage and fight, who has lived through the aftermath and is still able to give cheeky grins. How did I find myself so blessed, where did this child come from? Surly not from me, not from my fear, not from weakness. He is truly my hero, and I thank God for him, pray God's healing on him and I with all that I have, all that I am I pray that he forgets, I pray that his eyes soon hold only joy and mischief and none of the fear and pain that we have seen this week.

December 15, 2010

One of my readers passed this along... I quite enjoyed it!! Pretty sad but at the same time, with all the comics, Blogs and articles being written about it this year you have to wonder if change is in the air.

December 14, 2010

I went to Vaughn Mills today with Kaleb for some one on one time but also to get my Christmas shopping started. On the way out there I listened to 640am talk radio. They were all up in arms about something Charles Adler had said regarding the gay pride parade. I found it interested and turned the radio up so that I could listen. As it turns out, Charles had been criticizing the way that the parade was advertised 'Come out and see young boys and girls', and this is a family friendly venue!? I personally find it offensive that public nudity is a crime and yet every year we allow men and women to march up and down our streets wearing little to nothing, they walk right past the doors of my church, where I bring my children on Sunday morning. Instead of arresting them for public nudity, we celebrate them, and are crucified if we say anything negative about it, the parade or it's participants.

Today Charles Adler said 'if you find yourself afraid to express your opinions, then you are no longer free.' Funny, that in a culture so hell bent on freedom of speech and freedom of religion, we cannot give our opinions without being accused of some kind of 'hate crime' or similar offense.

There was something else though that I noticed today while listening to this broadcast. The callers all agreed with Charles, maybe not in his opinion but in his right to have his opinion and his right to express it. It made me wonder who it is that is finding everything so offensive? Have we let some over sensitive, opinionated, loud mouths into a position of power over our own freedom of speech? When did this happen? When will we take our voice back?

December 12, 2010

Hope, longing, anticipation, and preparation. As we prepare for Christmas we walk through the steps of preparing for the King to come. Not Santa, not presents, but the King. How wrong do we get this every year? How many of us lose our focus and buy into the commercialism that the media and society push down out throats? I know I do, I love getting presents! I also love the feeling of watching a person unwrap the gift that I hunted down for them. It is true, that there is something simple and sweet about picking out the perfect gift, or watching a child's eyes light up when they look under the tree on Christmas morning. There is nothing particularly wrong about the tradition of gift giving, is Christmas not a celebration of a gift, a King, given to the world? The problem of course comes when we forget that simple fact.

Every year we begin the count down come December 1st. It is a season, something that we buy our children calendars for, a time of year that we anticipate as surly as the Jews in the 1st century anticipated freedom, a King, a Messiah. We have special services at church, we light candles, and it all leads to Christmas eve, that magical night of lights and music, joy and hope and celebrations. The world seems more beautiful in this season of advent, people say they have the 'Christmas spirit', they give more, they do more acts of kindness and offer generously to those less fortunate.

The question that I am left with, the one that I have been struggling with today is this... why just in the advent season? Are we not in a constant state of anticipation? Constant longing? Are we not always waiting for our King? Our Messiah? Should we not always see the world through our 'Christmas Lens'? Look at the less fortunate and try to find ways to help them, look at the child and not offer ways for them to see delight in their world? Should we not be kind everyday? Should we not be preparing our hearts always, in constant readiness for our Saviour? Come December 26th we rush out to get to the Boxing Day sales, or we sit on the couch and rest after being stuffed full during the holidays. Why is it that we always feel let down afterwards? Why is it that we find ourselves having the 'holiday blues'? Could it be that it is because we are still waiting on the ADVENT? Waiting for the 'arrival' or 'coming' of our King? That wait doesn't end on Christmas morning, we celebrate his birth but we also wait for his return.

So my thoughts have run to this, that though I celebrate his birth, I also prepare my heart for his return and I should remain in the Advent season until he comes again. Always in a season of hope, longing, repentance, joy, always looking around my world and trying to spot the beauty and lights of Christmas, always doing my best to see those in need, and do what I can to help them. To show my sons how to show compassion, how to love in a world where real love is an exception, to show them how to hope, how to believe in a coming Saviour, to raise them to know that they too are waiting, hoping for and longing for their King to come.

My hope, my prayer, is that during this magical season of Christmas we remember to hang on to the spirit in which is was intended. That we give with joy, but also that we continue the hoping, continue the wonder waiting and believing. My hope is that we don't get lost in the shuffle and rush of the season and wake up on Boxing day feeling the loss and let down of the end of Advent.

December 11, 2010

Josh woke in the night needing his medicine, I gave it to him and before he'd even swallowed it he was back asleep. It took me a little longer. I watched him sleep for a few minutes before heading back to my own room. He looks so peaceful and sweet, he always has. He has a way of pulling off the naughtiest things and then looking up at you and smiling in that sweet way he has and staying mad isn't really an option. He will be causing total chaos and wreaking havoc on our home and then at nap time he curls up and sleeps with his monkey and bunny tucked up in his arms and soother falling out of his lips. He just has a way about him that causes a heart to fall in love and eyes to light up with joy.

I went to bed and lay there for a while thinking about the past week, the past months really. I have spent a lot of time in the last few months reflecting on miracles. What they look like? How we get one, why we sometimes don't get one... I have even questioned the things in my life that I had believed to be miracles. I have doubted their existence, I have struggled with faith. This shames me, after all that God has done for myself, for Joshua, how can I doubt his hand in our lives?

I went into this week prepared for the worst case scenario. It was by far his most difficult procedure, definitely the longest, and after speaking with his doctors in pre-op, it was also the one that offered us little hope and encouragement. For the first time on this journey I lost my optimism.On Monday morning when we were driving to the hospital I felt sick, knowing what was about to happen, knowing that I was doing this to him. It had been my signature on the consent form. If anything happened to him, I would live with that knowledge for the rest of my life. Did I have a choice? No, but did it matter on Monday morning? No.

When he was finally woken out of sedation and calling 'Mummy' looking for me to help him somehow I felt the guilt of knowing it was me who did this, it was my fault he was in pain, and worse, that I couldn't help him. During all of this, I anticipated set backs, and waited for complications. For the first time since Josh was diagnosed inside of me as having a heart defect I had stopped believing in miracles. I didn't stop believing that God loved us, I didn't stop knowing that he would see us through, but I had stopped believing that God could move mountains. I had gotten off my mustard seed path and wandered around for a little while.

Yesterday, as I was standing in the Delta Chelsea staring at my son sitting on Santa's knee, his scar showing, his shaky hands holding tight to the Christmas bells, his sunken eyes watching in delight I was moved to tears. This child truly is a miracle, his existence is a miracle, his joy and laughter are miracles. God gave me a Christmas gift bigger than just Joshua's miraculous recovery. He gave me back my belief in miracles. They happen all around us, we saw one this week with a friends Mom who somehow was cured of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in a miracle surgery. Everyday they happen, answered prayers, miracles, Gods little hugs from heaven. They happen, we just need to see them, we need to keep focused on him and keep looking for them. I had stopped looking because I had stopped believing, he reminded me to open my eyes and see.

A friend reminded me this week of the meaning of Joshua's name, God saves. He saves, not just the Joshua's of the world but the world. We just can't stop looking...

December 10, 2010

This is a picture journey... from the night before the surgery to our return home tonight... 5 days and one huge miracle! On Monday he underwent 9 hours of open heart surgery, two times on bybass, a right atrial injury during surgery and a morphine allergy... not to mention all the normal post surgery pain, gas, and drug withdrawl... and yet today he is smiling and wanting to jump around and play... he is well and truly my miracle child!

The sight of my sons smile has the power to alter my world and my perspective on life. We stayed up late last night watching Toy Story 3 about 15 times, but he was snuggled up to me the whole time, and on occasion he even smiled at me. What a night! I will not soon forget the feeling of warmth that ray of sunshine brought my world. He is one amazing child!! Even the exhaustion and the late hour (we were still watching movies at 2:30 am) was made fun by those simple little smiles.

Today, though still not walking or moving around, still shaky and weak they have allowed us to take him home. One of the blessings of living in Toronto is that they know that we aren't far away if there is a problem which means we are always released sooner! Loving that! We have been blessed by friends who have given us a room at a local hotel beside the hospital so that we can have a fun night at the hotel before going home. We will order pizza and sleep in the BIG beds! Josh's smile lit the whole of Toronto when we drove out of the parking garage today, we got outside and he beamed. It was beautiful!

This past 5 days have been many things, it's been hard, stressful, scary, sad, heartbreaking and exhausting, but it's also been a lesson in love for me. I have learned how loved we are as a family, how loved Josh is and how so many people, literally all over the world care and want to help us. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love, prayers, generosity and support. As a family we are truly blessed. I am in awe of you all. You have taught me lessons that I will never forget in how to love someone.

I am sure that we still have quite a road before us, but after this week I know this: God still gives miracles, I am blessed to know Joshua, life sometimes just needs some perspective, and friendships are an incredible blessing and offer of God's unconditional love. Friendships are given by choice, unlike family, they don't need to love you but they do anyway. :)

December 9, 2010

I don't know what is worse, watching Josh lying still and sedated in the CCU or being more alert and fighting the pain and the meds and irritations that come with surgery. Calling 'Mummy' hour after hour in an attempt to get me to make it better. I am completely and totally helpless, there is no way that I can make this pain go away for him, or make the healing process go any faster.

That all being said, with each thrashing, each desperate call for 'Mummy' I am thankful. He is fighting, he is not caving to the pressure to just sleep it off. He is exhausted, he is groggy, he is weak, he is in pain, he's itchy, he is gassy BUT he is drinking, and he even had some apple sauce today, he wants to play, he wants to sit up, he wants to stay awake. He is a fighter and always has been and that has brought him this far, kept him with us this long.

So I thank God for giving him a fighting spirit, but more importantly a fighters heart.

December 8, 2010

For the last few days I have been so out of it that I actually forgot my password to my account, hence the lack of Blogs, well, that and the fact that time here is spent at Joshua's bedside and not at the computer. During that time I have had things running through my mind that I wanted to just Blog, things I wanted to say, things I was feeling. Now, here I am, finally sitting at a computer and my brain is defunct. I will do my best though, and we will see what happens.

I will start in Austria a number of years ago. We used to sing a song at church there, one that I loved because of it's simplicity and beauty. It was just three lines and yet it stuck with me always and I often sang it during my day. However, upon returning home I had lost the tune, and the last two lines. I could only remember the first line, 'don't be afraid'. Then I had Josh, and he got a toy guitar and one of the tunes started with 'Dont be afraid' (a rather annoying little tune really) and I lost hope of every recovering that song. Every time I tried the only tune I could come up with was that of the stupid little guitar.

On Monday we sat for 9 hours while Josh had open heart surgery. It went double the amount of time they told us it would take. I cannot tell you what that does to you, unless you have had a child or loved on in surgery like that it's indescribable. Every time a person by the door moved I looked up, there was no way I could read, no way I could do anything but pace, or sit staring at the door where I last saw my son. I would sit there, watching the door and every once and awhile I would panic. I would think, what ifs? What if he ends up in coma? What if he needs the tricuspid replaced? What if that goes wrong? Worse, and this one brought extreme panic, what if he dies? Every time I saw a security guard I thought they were coming to be on guard while the Dr. relayed this terrible news.

Every time I panicked, one thing came to mind, with perfect clarity and no struggle to remember, the words and the tune to that old song that I had thought was long since gone.

I has run through my head since Monday morning, I have been singing it to Josh and myself and will continue to do so when the panic comes. It has been Gods message to me since I was pregnant with Josh, Don't be afraid, be strong and courageous, don't be afraid, My love is stronger.

December 5, 2010

I have been hearing a lot about choices lately, they say we all have choices, and I agree for the most part. However, I would like to submit an ulterior opinion... what if sometimes we don't have a choice? What if sometimes, the choice we are given isn't really a choice at, but rather an alternative way of telling us what we have to do, of controlling the outcome of our situation. Choices require an attractive alternative, or at the very least an option that one might actually choose. Don't they? Or, maybe, maybe it's not about the actual choice but more about how you look at the choice, how you look at the outcome of your choices that matter most?

The woman with cancer is told that she needs to have both her breasts removed or the cancer will spread and she will ultimately die. Choice? Where? Yes, technically she could say, 'oh no thank you, I like my breasts and would rather keep them, but you have a nice day'. Let's be honest though, who would do that? Where is the choice? Maybe it's not really about the choice at all, maybe it is how she chooses to look at the loss of her breasts? Does she give in to the temptation of despair, or does she rise above and thank God that she has her life, that she can live and have more time with those she loves? Almost like choosing to look at a pile of crap or look up and see the rainbows.

I was given a choice, but the people that gave it to me made it clear that it was no really a choice at all...

After hearing all of the reasons why open heart for Josh will be difficult, risky and very long, after explaining that there are so many reasons why things could go wrong in the OR, how some of the decisions that need to made can't even be made until they are inside him, after all of this, they gave me the choice. Do the surgery, regardless of risks, or watch him die of heart failure. Choice? Where?

Tomorrow morning I am handing over my baby to a team of people that I have to trust with his life and I have met them once, they are some of the best, I know that, but it's still my baby and it's still the hardest thing in the world for me to do. Like trusting a God that I can't see. The difference is of course that I have experienced God's hand, I have felt his love in my life and known his mercy, grace and I have watched him work and move enough to know that trusting him is not a choice either, rather it is the only way I can survive times like these.

These doctors, this team of strangers have been trained by the best in this field, people come from all over the world to study here, to learn and take it home to their own countries so that children there can benefit from their experience in Toronto. Joshua's last surgeon is now back in his home country of Saudi Arabia, saving other kids like Josh. It's comforting to know how good they are, I find hope in the fact that this hospital is the Top Gun of children's medicine, but it still doesn't change that this is my first born, my son that I am handing into their care tomorrow. What choices do I have? No one has really given me a choice? I have had to sign consent, given permission for them to stop my sons heart, they proposed it as a choice but I can't find the other option.

So, last night as I lay awake trying to figure all this out I put two of the things that I have said in this post together and came up with the answer, or at least the only answer I will get right now...

I trust the God of the universe, he created Joshua, put him together cell by cell inside of my body, even the parts that aren't working. He had a reason for that even if we don't know the why yet. He has shown me love, mercy and grace throughout my life when I didn't deserve it, and he will love me still in this. He will hold Josh's hand, he will comfort him in ways that I can't. My mother is law had a dream of Jesus walking around the OR, overseeing Josh's surgery, sitting in the waiting room comforting us. Tim and I could live anywhere in the world, yet we live here, in Toronto, home to one of the best children's hospitals in the world.

Yes, I am handing my son over tomorrow for a major event in his life. Yes, there are risks and no I don't believe there are any choices, but - and this is a big but, I am giving him into well trained hands, hands that know what they are doing, and I am trusting him to God, the Father of miracles. I am choosing to look away from the crap to look at the rainbows.

December 3, 2010

Words mean something, they hurt, the heal, they bring fear or cause laughter. Letters, strung together and either written down on paper, in a text or maybe even a Blog. Letters making up a sentence spoken in love, hate or just offered up in an off hand comment.

Words. Letters. They should be mean nothing. They should have no affect on us what so ever and yet the mean everything. 'I love you' from the lips of a lover is the beauty that confirms the actions. When all else fails, you know the words have to be enough. A soldier, fighting overseas, missing his wife, he can't show her, with arms wrapped around her, but he can tell her and she can hear him.

Claims that you are ugly, too fat, too skinny, too tall, odd looking, have four eyes, freckles, are stupid, maybe you even had weird ears... whatever it is, those claims that happened in the school yard at recess haunt you even now, they affect how you view who you are as an adult, they shape your life.

Words, told to you as a child, maybe you are asked to keep a secret, or you accidentally reveal a secret, words hidden destroy just as badly as words allowed into the open.

We were told as kids that 'sticks and stones may break our bones but names will never hurt us', what kind of crap is that? Who thought that up? People live their whole lives living up to or running away from the names they have been called by Fathers, Mothers, Teachers, Friends, strangers or bully's. I have had two broken arms and a knee cap fracture, they have long since healed and have long since been forgotten unless pulled out at a party for a funny story.

Kids are literally dying because of the damage power of words, killing themselves, killing rivals, forever damaging thousands of lives... words, letters.

We have all had the talks, the words that have left their mark on us. We can all look back to times in our lives when we heard something either good or bad and we can recite it back verbatim. This Blog isn't tell you anything you can't identify with, and I can't say why I am even bothering to write it.

Words, and their power have been on my mind I guess. I hear of the gang turf wars in Toronto and I think of how silly it all is when it's boiled right down. I think of the promising lives of young people who have died because a group thought them different and used words to hurt them. I think of the simply word yes, that lands a mother and her two year old in a car with a drunk driver, and the devastation left in the wake of one three letter word.

I think of all the words I hear yesterday, at pre-op, letters, thousands of them... words meant to inform, instill fear, words meant to help, letters put together so that I might understand leave no room for more questions, words are powerful, the invoke terror, grief, hope, joy, pain...

December 1, 2010

I am and have been feeling broken these days, like a puzzle that can't be put back together because somehow somewhere a piece got lost or maybe the picture isn't right and I am trying to fit the puzzle together where it doesn't belong. I want to be one thing, I want to act one way but every now and again I find myself slipping and before I know it the whole puzzle has come apart and I am left to start again. I can't paint, I can't sing, I can't do much artistically really, so I create my art with my photos. This is my latest... This is the stamp on which I am placed and the pieces I can't seem to get to fit.

If I were to go deeper I would take a guess that humanity is like this, broken, and struggling to fix itself without having all the pieces. We just can't seem to make them fit and yet we continue to try.

I watch Josh putting together a puzzle and for the most part he is pretty good at it, but every once and a while he comes across a difficult one, he pushes and bangs the piece trying to make it work, then he gets frustrated and angry and often the offending piece is sent flying across the room. I try to explain to him that you need it to be turned just the right way, and then it slides in place all neat and snug, but like us he just drops the puzzle and looks up, wanting me to do it for him.

I am getting tired and frustrated with my puzzle, and I keep looking up, wanting God to fix it and do it for me... I am about to throw the pieces across the room.

November 30, 2010

Time is a really interesting thing, you are never either in the past or the future and yet it's always just a moment away. Right this second I am looking at my children, Kaleb playing with blocks, Josh lying on the couch and I am realizing all too quickly how this minute is already over. I Blog and my children pass through their childhood... dismal outlook today I realize. The rain isn't helping. It reminds me of the days when G&R were huge and I would listen to songs like November Rain and love it. :) Now, well now it just depresses me.

Back to Time... the good thing about Time is that when you stop to look at it, and realize that you can't, when you finally stop and see that it's really slipping away then you can stop and begin to see things differently. You look at your husband and you see a man who loves you and would do everything and anything to make you happy, you forget that he didn't empty the diaper bin today, you see your child's tears and you smile because all it takes right now is a little snuggle to make it better, you know that soon you won't be able to comfort the tears away so simply, you see the mess in the kitchen and you realize it's there because you were well enough, and blessed enough to have food to eat this morning, and that it's a quick clean up when you are finished playing with the kids. You stop being frustrated by your inability to keep up with emails, because it dawns on you that they are from people who love you, who care about you, and instead you Thank God that you can't keep up. The endless appointments fade out because it means that there are people there who know how to help, people who can fix things that I know nothing about.

When you stop and really look at time it gives you a fresh perspective, one that we all need to have sometimes. The only moment you can control is this one, everything else is either past or future and there is nothing you can do about it.

November 29, 2010

November 28, 2010

We had dinner out tonight, got the boys all bundled up against the biting wind and buckled into the car and drove the 10 minutes to the local Swiss Chalet. I spent the day having 'Me' time, went to visit an old friend, got my hair done... we decided dinner out would mean that we wouldn't need to make dinner and worse, clean up after it. So, to Swissers we went.

We ate our meal, the boys took turns playing and throwing theirs, we talked politics and war, the boys chatted about God knows what. It was a nice evening. As we were finishing up our drinks and waiting for the bill I watched an older man get seated not too far from us.

He had a slight hunch, his clothes were nice, but on the scruffier side, like they had been well worn but of high quality. He took off his coat, laid it down on the chair beside him and sat heavily on the seat beside him. He glanced at me, his old eyes quickly glancing away when they met my look. The wrinkles on his face were weathered and he looked tired, and sad. He unrolled his napkin, placed it on his lap and then slowly methodically laid out his silverware. I couldn't take my eyes off him.

Who was he? How did he come to be alone this Sunday evening? Does he have family? Where are they? All these questions plague me as I continue to watch. He pulls glasses out of his pocket and places them carefully on his face, they quickly slip to his nose and he adjusts his glance accordingly. He folds his hands on the table in front of him and he sighs, staring at his crossed fingers. I will for him to look at me again, I want to smile to this man, to let him into our circle even if only for a moment. He won't look up. The waitress brings him a chocolate milk and I have to smile. He and Joshua have the same favorites.
I don't know who this man was, I don't know what brought him to the restaurant tonight, why he braved the cold alone, I don't know if he is a kind old gentleman or someone who has a history of abusive behaviour, I only know, that tonight, in this moment I am sad for him. I have a feeling there is a story there, a sad story, and it makes me sorry that I didn't have a chance to smile, a chance to say hello.

I do realize of course that this man could have been quite happy to be eating out alone tonight, maybe he and his wife don't agree on his choice of restaurant, maybe he decided that he wanted a Festive Special while watching the Grey Cup, maybe he isn't married at all but quite happily single, maybe he is starting up a new relationship and is in the exciting throws of new love, maybe he just came from visiting a new Grandchild, or from taking an older Grandchild out for the day... maybe.

Either way, he made me realize the wonders of family, even when it gets hard there is something about a family that sticks and that is comforting on the best of days let alone when times get tough as they inevitably do.

I have been getting a lot of emails lately, from literally all over the world from people who are hurting, people who are in a dark place, people in a season of pain. I read the emails and I hurt for them, I want to say the exact right thing to help make things bearable. The problem is what on earth can words do to make that kind of pain hurt less? Who am I to to have the right things to say?

Then, the pain came closer to home. In grade 5 I met M. She was my best friend for more years that I can count, we were tight, sisters of the heart. We shared everything with each other, laughed, cried, hurt, enjoyed our first crushes together, talked all night long, got into trouble together and talked our way out of trouble together. We vowed nothing could tear us apart, we swore that we would be forever friends, but as things happen I moved and the distance soon took it's tole on our friendship. We saw each other less often, called infrequently and we each moved a few times. Eventually we lost phone numbers and were so embroiled in our lives that we didn't have time to look back.

M found me on facebook roughly 4 years ago. We have been in touch but still with both of us fairly newly married with young kids it's hard to find time for ourselves, let alone trying to find time to rebuild old friendships. That changed though in the last few weeks. I don't know how or why but we both just seem to be in a place where we need contact with an old and very dear friend.

The pain I referred to earlier is hers, she is in a time of darkness herself and I find myself unable to find words that will help her. I hurt for her, I long to make things better for her, I pray for her, but still find myself feeling like I am letting her down somehow. I want to give her answers, I want to help her understand but I can't.

So I sit here, with a full inbox and all I can do is say... 'I don't know why', I am all out of words for these people, I am all out of words for my sister of the heart.

I have discovered though, only recently that words don't always matter, silence is sometimes more than enough. Sitting together, in silence and allowing the other person just to be in the presence of your love and know that they can just be. Emails make that harder, silence can easily be misconstrued as dismissive, but sometimes, it's okay to say you don't have anything to say. Sometimes, hearing 'I don't know' is enough to make you feel like you have been understood, that it's not only you who is sitting there blind, wondering why... sometimes, if you reach out in the darkness you find that there is someone sitting right beside you who wants to hold your hand.

My hope, my prayer for M and those others of you who I know are in a dark place of your own, is that you find that person in the dark beside you, and that you cling to the hand they offer you.

November 26, 2010

November 25, 2010

I caved to self pity the other day, I allowed it to eat me up until I was a mess of tears, frustration and discouragement and in the end I went to bed feeling hopeless, tired and angry. We have had the last two weeks off for holidays and instead of resting up for the next few insane weeks, we got the flu, then a cold and then renovated our basement, we had one fun night in the midst of illness after illness. Every plan we made for any kind of outing was spoiled by flu, my days have been filled with changing gross diapers filled with runny yellow fluid, or cleaning up vomit, changing sheets, changing clothes, holding hands, wiping tears and noses, all of this of course while dealing with a sick husband, and being sick myself. So, you see, I finally gave in and allowed the pity party to start, it wasn't a fun party, there was no wine, no streamers, no cake...although I did go and buy myself a little Austrian chocolate. No, it wasn't a party I would want to invite anyone too. I am even slightly embarrassed throwing it really.

Not to explain or even excuse my badly planned party but I do have reasons why I felt the need to have it, and in the end of this post you will know why I needed to give reasons. You see, in just over a week I will go to the hospital with Josh and I will stay there until he comes home with me. He will need my twenty four hour care, during the night hours while he sleeps (hopefully) nurses will still come into the room, waking me thought they try not too. Tests and Rounds and Visits will cut out hopes for a nap, so any kind of rest will be out of the picture. I will come home, to begin the Christmas season, with a house to decorate and two kids to look after, one of which will still need a lot of extra care. Church life begins to get insane around this time of year so again, life will be hectic, we will be exhausted I had hoped that this holiday would see me go into this next chapter rested, ready, instead I found myself more wrung out than normal. I don't say this to instill sympathy, I don't really need it or want it. I simply tell you this so that I can tell you what I learned this week about rest.

The night I threw my pity party I received an email from my Dad, he had heard the discouragement in my voice and wanted to write to encourage me. He said a lot of things but what I took away was this.

'Be still and know that I am God'. So simple isn't it? Be still. In this insanity I have somehow forgotten to just be still. I am moving, turning, spiralling, trying to find answers, trying to understand, trying to make things as simple as I can for Josh, I am moving and running and even in sleep I am fighting for answers, cures, whispers of hope. Obviously it hasn't helped, or I wouldn't have had that little party the other night. At no point have I stopped and just been still. Not once have I just rested in the sovereignty of God, putting at the cross all of my fears, all of my hurts, discouragement, frustrations. Instead I have been fighting to control it all. I have been buying things for Josh that might comfort him, new pj's, books, videos, puzzles, anything that will help this go smoother for him. (not that it's wrong to do those things, I don't believe it is). I think, I know, it's because I want to control something in this chaos. I have forgotten that God is in control and God is not chaos. He has the beginning and the end all worked out and he knows Joshua, he knows his doctors, he knows me and he knows what we all need and will see to it. My job, as Joshua's Mum is to love Josh the best that I know how. The rest,the stuff I can't control? That's for God to worry about.

So, here is to new beginnings. I am going to do my best to use these last few precious days of holidays to 'Be still' and know that He is God. I will give it to him and rest in the knowledge that he is in control and he loves us. That has to be enough for now.

November 24, 2010

At the end of the game the other night the crowds were crazy, we made our way through a sea of people to get on the subway or GO train. Since everyone around me was so tall I found myself looking down at shoes to keep track of my steps, that's when I see him. A lone man, crouched down and sitting at the entrance of the Air Canada Centre. He's got a scruffy beard, dirty clothes, and has made himself a seat on an old piece of cardboard. His eyes are down cast and his shoulders hunched. I am being swept up in the crowd so I can't stop to observe him, or offer the change from my pocket. I can't even get close enough to acknowledge him as a person. I look up and see the eyes of the mass of people around me, this man is invisible. No one sees him, no one recognizes his need, he is not there. I move with the wave and soon we come to another door and there in the same spot but different door is yet another nameless, faceless soul. Invisible. I find myself hurting for them, hurting for the young men they are, for the boys they were. Where did they come from? Where are they going? Who loves them? Who searches for them in a vain attempt to call them home? Again the throng around me is too deep and too fast moving to stop and offer words of hope or peace or even just give them the two bucks for a coffee to warm themselves. I wonder where they will sleep tonight? where will they eat? Do they have friends? Who is their mother? Does she know where they ended up? Does she care? My mind tells me that they have places to turn, they have a city that cares for them, a shelter to go to for rest and warm food. My heart can't hide from the simple realization that they are invisible in this city. People walk by, eyes looking anywhere but down to where they sit, asking for change, asking for help. I think of the nameless few that I myself have walked past, eyes looking anywhere but where they are and I find myself shamed, shamed that I too am guilty of allowing these people, these lost souls of our city to stay invisible.

November 23, 2010

For as far back as I can remember the Toronto Maple Leafs were my team, I inherited them from my Father and I will pass the genes along to my own sons, going to a game is a right of passage for any true Toronto Fan (or it was until they made seats impossible to get for regular fans). I would go so far as to say that most people who grew up in the Toronto area can look back at a time in their lives when they sat in the seats of the Gardens with their Dads and cheered on the Leafs.

My own first game was the Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets, and at the time I was so young that I didn't really understand the idea of cheering for one team, so every time someone got a goal I was thrilled. (To the horror of my Father I am sure :)

Last night, for the first time in MANY (that will go unnumbered) years I was able to attend a Leafs game thanks to the generosity of a good friend. Tim and I were able to escape life for the night and go down to the Air Canada Centre for a night of blissful hockey watching. The stands filled up quickly and the air was charged with an excitement that can only come from being at a game where the fans really love their hockey. There were the very typical business men, joining in a round of 'let's play business but really watch hockey and drink beer' and of course you had the Fathers who had brought their kids looking all cute with their little micro-jersey's on. Their were young girls, cheering loudly hoping to be spotted by equally young men in a primal dance of testosterone and estrogen. Then of course there were people who were there simply for the love of the game, with someone they love, sharing passion for a sport even when the team is one that is quite commonly known to suck.

Before the game got underway, before the anthems were sung and the flags were hung they had a time of remembrance for both Gaye Stewart and Pat Burns, what a moment it was too! The crowd stood while they showed tribute to these two hockey greats. As the music on the tribute faded the roar of the crowd became deafening and a resounding cheer went up, people cheered in a standing ovation for roughly 5 minutes. It was enough to get even the grumpiest of grumpy's all choked up.

The anthems played, red white and blue and then good old red and white, true north strong and free! Then it began, the players took position over the centre line and the puck dropped. The action didn't stop, there were fights, penalties and power plays but more importantly there were GOALS! Four of them for the Leafs... it was fun, and exciting and such a great way to escape from life for a while.

November 22, 2010

For those of you that have been reading for a while you know that Tim and I recently moved to our new home in July. It's our first experience as home owners and we are thrilled with our house and our neighbourhood. We are so centrally located that I can get anywhere in the city quickly and easily, and we are in a neighbourhood that is so much like Europe that I am less homesick for Austria and the life I lived there. If I can't live in Europe then this is where I would choose to live. I am lucky in that way, many people aren't as happy with where they live as I am.

However, the house we chose to live was UGLY when we bought it that we almost couldn't see it's potential. It has dust you had to wade through, enough dog hair to make a coat, enough cat hair to make an Elephant look like a Lion, and the smells of Cigarettes, Cat and Dog Urine and general dirtiness could ward off even rodents, let alone bugs and other creatures of the dark and slimy variety. It was disgusting! If dirtiness was it's only issue then we would have simply hired a cleaning lady (for A LOT of cash) and been done with it.

I will start in the living room, with sea foam green walls and old Buick blue trim the room was in obvious need of pain, but add to those mismatched colours the nicotine yellow and you had a colour that even Crayola can't describe! The floors were a weird marble looking vinyl floor that covered the entire lower level, not too bad really if it were the height of the 1970's and vinyl was your thing. The kitchen, new as of a year ago was pretty good, the only issue was a huge cabinet jutting out of the wall that didn't match the rest of the kitchen or house really. (immediate tear down required). The basement... well that's a whole other story better saved for the end. Let's move upstairs shall we?

Joshua's room, the largest bedroom because eventually he will share with his little brother was a tan colour that bordered on mustard, the door was black on one side and not painted at all on the other side. The hall was the same sea foam green as the living room with the same Buick Blue trim. Kaleb's room, does the name PEPTO bring a colour to mind? Heinous! The bathroom was the only room in the house that was move in able so to describe it wouldn't be fun at all. Just imagine a fairly normal bathroom and move on. Now, our bedroom, picture it, black door, black trim, black ceiling, the trim on the windows and doors was a high gloss olive green with sparkly's, and the walls? Ah those walls... putrid yellow with lots of purple paint splotches. Need I say more?

Now we move to the basement, the reason for this post, the wonder of all rooms and the last remnant of the uglies that once lived here. The main room that, advertised as finished, was actually just an old basement that the previous owner threw a carpet on and slapped up some paint. By slapped on, I truly mean slapped on. This room is by far a work of art, by FAR! The walls were a wide variety of colours, powder blue mustard tan, red, green, navy blue and Buick Blue and one rather large garish creature made from some black paint. The ceiling was more of the same. The laundry room had wall paper of one wall and the rest was a surprisingly pleasing mix of dark red and deep grey, if only the wall paper wasn't blue with strange flowers?. The bathroom, my new spa, was a tropical disaster! Bright lime green covered every surface, everything else was brass, even the bidet, yes I did just say bidet!! (How we could keep something that we could imagine the previous owner using?? - it's just wrong!) Do I need to say anymore to make you envision the ugliness that was our house?

There were gems though, little things that struck my imagination and allowed me to see beyond the mess and find the beauty of the home we now have. The fireplace, though in need of reworking had loads of potential, and there were three beautiful stained glass windows that had so much charm that I could see past everything I have just described and imagine us living here. It was these little gems that I fell in love with.

We are now making the basement into our guest/playroom and as we say goodbye to the crazy black monster and the off beat wall colours there is a small part of me that is sad to see it all go, mostly because it's the last remaining visual reminder of the ugliness I fell in love with. Not to say of course that I am very excited to have the room finished, to have the toys once and for all removed my under my feet, and to have a nice spot to offer guests when they come. It will be a wonderful change around here, and a much needed update.

I guess, if looking you could find a life lesson here. No matter how messy, dirty and ugly the package is there is always a gem that someone will fall in love with and the potential that is unleashed when loved is unimaginable!

November 21, 2010

I do a lot of talking about my eldest son Joshua on this blog, I rarely talk about my sweet and sensitive little one. Kaleb is in dire need of some attention here, you need to know him the way I know him. You need the full scope of my family. Not just the sick, dire times that I have been sharing lately but also the times that are so full of laughter, joy and growing and learning. It is a precious time in the lives of the Haughton family, and nothing, not even impending heart surgery will put a damper on it.

Josh loves trains, so his Grandad set up a train set for him. Kaleb sat on my lap while we watched Josh and Grandad play with the trains, telling them to stop & go. Kaleb, wanting to join in the fun started yelling 'GO' and pointing his little 13 month old finger at Thomas. His talking is such an exciting thing for me since his brother is still not talking at three. I have never experienced this stage before, the part of life that lets you explore sounds and words to the joy and excitement of those around you. His first word was a few months ago when he said 'Ma Ma', he says Dog (dug), and attempts to say Josh but it never quite works. He's been doing those things for a while now, so this new stage of a new attempt at a word a day is so exciting. Yesterday he tried 'hello' when I gave him the cell phone, he said 'no' when I said no (although it didn't stop him from doing it, it just made him giggle). He is a light, a little gift that God knew we would need right now and he allows us to forget for a time that Josh is sick. I think he even allows Josh to forget sometimes. They play together and are getting much better at not beating each other up (let me rephrase - Josh is getting better at not beating up his little brother). I can see slowly how the bonds of friendship that will last their lifetimes are being built.

Kaleb will put his head on my shoulder, sucking his thumb and I can feel his little heart beat, feel his breath on my neck and nothing else matters. He is my sweet and sensitive one. If I fall, Josh laughs (which has a charm of it's own) but Kaleb, he cries and will put his head in my lap. If we say 'no' Josh goes ahead with it anyway and will put up with the consequences (almost as if he has pre-weighed the decision before attempting the actions), Kaleb gets a 'No' and he crumples and cries hard, even if that 'No' was meant for the dog or his brother. If something scares him he wants me, to hold him and ease the fear away, if he's sick he wants me to hold him until he feels better, if he hurts himself he needs kisses to make it better.

The differences between these two boys are polar and yet both are so wonderful. I have known joy, love and discovery in my life but nothing like I have known since meeting, and marrying Tim and ultimately having these two children. How blessed I am, how lucky I feel to have these three wonderful men brought into my life. (Not to mention of course my Father, who is and always will be my 'Daddy', the man I can run to for safety and comfort and unending love' )

Truly this woman is blessed! Even in the midst of my darkest night I cannot forget the men who have made my life so joyful and brilliant.

November 18, 2010

For a moment I thought to myself 'wouldn't it be nice' to be someone else? To have that item? To be skinnier? To...

If I was someone else I wouldn't love and be loved by the many special people in my life, if I had that item I would want a different one and if I was skinnier it would do nothing for my identity...

So, I am left with one question. How do I become Laurie, to my fullest extent? How do I become completely content with the person I am. This doesn't mean that I won't still see room for improvement of course, but it would mean that my whole identity wouldn't be wrapped up in the outer package but rather the inner me, the real woman inside. Does it mean I don't need to lose weight? No, I could stand to shed the baby fat but it would mean that if I didn't lose the weight, or if I did and then gained a few pounds then an amazing thing would happen... I would still be Laurie. My whole world wouldn't be rocked by a few pounds.

Living life, enjoying life, is a precious thing that happens when you put your full identity in God, when I see him as he sees me, not as others see me. When I can look deep inside and know I am the woman he intended me to be then it doesn't matter if I am overweight, if I have bad hair, if I have a zit today. All that matters is that he created me and I am living into that reality.

How freeing is that? It allows me to just live, to strive only for one thing, a fuller more abundant relationship with him.

November 17, 2010

I watched the Last Holiday for the first time last night with my Mom while I edited her photos. It's a movie starring Queen Latifa, her character is given 3 weeks to live so after feeling sorry for herself for a short time she decides that she is going to enjoy the time she has left. She cashes in her savings and gets gets herself on a plane to Prague to make her dream of staying in a particular hotel where her favorite famous chef works.

The movie takes her on a ride of enjoying life, living the dream and then realizing that it's worth nothing if the people you love aren't there with you to enjoy the ride. She goes from a woman who goes about life, not enjoying life, never stepping up and saying what she needs or thinks, who never eats what she cooks because it's got fat in it, to being a woman who learns what it means to enjoy the life we are given. To love the people in our lives, to enjoy the bounty and in the end being Thankful for it all.

I could learn a lesson here if I chose to, I could watch the movie, laughing hysterically and never see the bigger picture or I could watch, laugh and enjoy it but also see how this is only funny because it's so reminiscent of my own life.

I have been caught in the dull drums of life, living in the future, worrying the future and not looking at right now, not enjoying today. Today, I have a wonderful husband who supports me and cares for me, who helps me to attain my goals and makes my dreams more reachable. I have two beautiful sons who are funny, cute, sweet, full of life and joy and laughter. I have parents who would do anything for me, sacrifice themselves if it meant it would make my life easier, or the life of my kids easier. I have in-laws who give so generously in both time, love, help of any kind. I am so blessed, and to live in fear of tomorrow is in a sense throwing my hands up and giving up. It's like saying 'thanks anyway' to the people who do their utmost to be there for me, to help me.

My hope needs to be in God alone, to allow myself to live with the worry of what may or may not happen to my kids in the future is like telling God I don't trust him and since I want to grow beyond my doubts, fears and worry. I want to rest in the knowledge that God is sovereign and have that be enough.

November 16, 2010

I downloaded the new version of Picasa yesterday for my laptop. I then began to play with all the little tabs and buttons that make photo editing an art form. I was having tons of fun because the new picasa links itself to picnic(a very fun editing website). I started to create a picture for Josh out of a picture I took of Thomas,

Thomas before

and started to search around for something fun to do. I went to the seasonal section and saw all the holidays listed there... Mothers Day, New Years Eve, Fathers Day, St. Patricks Day, Soccer Fever, July 4th, Easter, Valentines Day, Football, Remembrance Day. I looked again, surly Christmas was an important holiday and would make a list of holidays?? Where was it? I looked again and again... and then finally the fog cleared or maybe the dust settled, either way I saw it. Buried at the bottom of the page under the title 'Holidays'... Hmmm I thought, weren't these all holidays? Apparently not, apparently they are just 'seasonal' and the holidays is the new 'Christmas'.
My question is when did this happen? When did Christmas get replaced by Holidays, and explain to me how holidays got replaced by seasonal? I could be wrong here, in fact I could just be totally stupid, but I was under the assumption that The 1st or 4th of July were holidays, that Valentines Day was a holiday, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Groundhog Day... you get the idea, they are all holidays! Seasons, when I was growing up meant four things... Spring, Summer,Winter and Fall. Back in the days of my youth you wished everyone a Merry Christmas, there were Christmas movies, Christmas lights, Christmas decorations, Christmas cookies and Christmas cheer for all (yes, even the politically correct were entitled to a dose of Christmas cheer). We used to make fun of the Grinch or Scrooge, they were men in need of change, they were men that needed Christmas to save them from themselves.

Somehow, somewhere, we ourselves have allowed the Grinches and Scrooges of Canada to govern how we celebrate, how we greet people and even how we decorate our how homes for the season. You can no longer buy a cute Santa for your yard greeting people who pass by with "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas". Instead we have stunted poor Santa's jolly smile by forcing him to say "Happy Holidays or worse... Seasons greetings." I have to wonder what would happen if we bought a manger scene and put that on our front lawn. Would I be extracted from my politically correct country?

Thomas after being hit by Christmas cheer!

I am going to dare to be bold here and wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Why is it that my Jewish friends can buy signs wishing their friends 'Happy Hanukkah'? When will they be asked to change it to 'Happy Holidays' or 'Seasons greetings', rest assured it's coming!